


Morning after/Rumors spread

by skinnyallie



Series: But if we go down, at least I'm in good company [1]
Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, poor attempt at humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:41:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23244928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skinnyallie/pseuds/skinnyallie
Summary: Throughout his life he struggled with creating stable relationships of any sort, especially romantic one, so essentially Bright was missing those experiences. It still was rare that Dani stayed over for the night, without leaving in a rush in the middle of the night or unbelievably early in the morning. Now Malcolm wanted to cherish every moment together, as much as his lowered by medication libido would let him.In which Jessica walks in on Malcolm and Dani and Gil wins $20.*various parts of this series don't need to be read in any kind of order; story is not linear from some point and time is an illusion*
Relationships: Malcolm Bright & Ainsley Whitly, Malcolm Bright & Jessica Whitly, Malcolm Bright/Dani Powell
Series: But if we go down, at least I'm in good company [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1671334
Comments: 7
Kudos: 85





	Morning after/Rumors spread

Malcolm was woken up by smooth, gentle strokes on his calves. Harsh sunlight was shining through the window, warming the dark covers of his bed - bed that he at this moment shared with someone, and the presence of another body additionally warmed the sheets.

His parakeet was slowly starting to chirp quietly, which meant she’s expecting him to start his day in just a while, with typical for him _ “Good morning, Sunshine” _ and music coming from the radio alarm. But this day wasn’t meant to be like others, he could feel it in his bones. Malcolm actually got a solid few hours of dreamless sleep and now his company for the last evening and night started marking her presence by slowly bringing him to awakeness.

Skin to skin human contact was always something he was craving for. As much as Jessica gave him maternal love within hugs and kisses (until at one point as a boy Malcolm decided he’s too old for his mother’s lipstick stain on his cheeks and forehead), and Ainsley was always there to tease him with playful sister jabs, Malcolm was lacking physical affection of the romantic and erotic kind.

Throughout his life he struggled with creating stable relationships of any sort,  _ especially  _ romantic one, so essentially Bright was missing those experiences. It still was rare that Dani stayed over for the night, without leaving in a rush in the middle of the night or unbelievably early in the morning. Now Malcolm wanted to cherish every moment together, as much as his lowered by medication libido would let him.

Dani's leg slipped between his and she started running it up and down, devouring the sensation of the warmth of human flesh. At first when there something started to bloom between them Dani was very reserved towards any physical signs of care and affection so Malcolm was ready to give it all up. But after a few times they spent together on their own, he discovered Dani Powell was against  _ public  _ displays of affection in general. She didn't tolerate it in others’ relationships, as well as in her own.

As she crawled to get closer to his naked body, Malcolm caught Dani with an arm around her waist, holding her tight to his side. Her head landed on his pec, soft cheek pressed firmly against muscles underneath the skin of his collarbone. He looked very slender, almost to the unhealthy extent due to, like he put it, most food making him sick. It was because of that the frame he did have was of fine muscle structure. The effect of trying different methods of self-discipline.

Bright’s mesmerising eyes shot open only to meet Dani's already staring back at him.

"Good morning," he groaned and huffed a laugh since it looked like, in contrast to the usual state of their morning, she was the one wide awake while Bright was only at the beginning of gathering his wits for the day. Malcolm turned on his back, not taking his hand from Dani's middle so she ended up half laying on top of him.

This caused an eruption of giggles from her. Moments like this still were surprising for him, it was weird to hear such cute sounds from one of the best detectives at Major Crimes. After a few seconds of collecting herself Dani's breath came back to its normal, peaceful rhythm.

"You slept well." It wasn't a question, but a statement, said with eyes bright from contentment. When they started spending nights together, Malcolm was very hesitant to share a bed with Dani, scared he would hurt her during one of his terrors. It had taken Dani a long time to convince him she’s truly willing to take the risk of getting punched in his sleep - she was tough, she could take it. After few peaceful tries of sleeping together, as in the same bed not having sex because that came later, it was easy for Dani to make out if the night was gentle for Bright or not. Even if the night terrors haven't grasped their claws on him, Malcolm's regular nightmares were always a threat of their own.

The sentence that left Dani's mouth was so sweet, coming from her lips, he smiled widely in agreement, showing each and every one of his glowing white teeth, her eyes scanning his cheerful expression.

Smiles weren’t something rare on his face - humor (dark and unsettling - but still humor), just as his job, was his coping mechanism. However true happiness wasn't present quite as often. When around his mother and sister, sometimes they all become carefree. But never for long - the ghost of Martin's crimes hovering over their lives. But in moments like this, away from the word tightly knotted with The Surgeon, his sincere joy drawn from things as simple as a night of sound sleep and presence of a person he deeply cared about, was overwhelming Dani.

Her eyes were sparkling with his happiness, reflecting it back into his face.

"I've heard it's rude to stare." Attempts at humor told Dani he started feeling uncomfortable, what happened every now and then, when Malcolm started doubting he’s worth of love and affection of any kind. She learned it’s best to use humor back and not corner him into serious conversation.

"You mind?" Dani leaned in, closer to his face, with her signature lip-sealed smile and glistening eyes. The proximity of her face was slightly uncomfortable, but Malcolm looked at all of this as his next profile so the typical norms weren't applied. It usually drove Dani mad and crazy but sometimes it just helped Malcolm sustain this little of a control that he had.

"I would if I didn't know what's on your mind," his hand started slowly caressing her side. Movement so mindless it surprised even him, how comfortable he was with showing, and Dani receiving, endearments. 

"But of course you do?" A smile sprawled across her face when his lips met hers. In between kisses Malcolm muttered through his own smile "Yeah…"

Unfortunately, Dani's characteristic was that her word was supposed to be the last in conversation, even if it had to be nonverbal reaction as a roll of her eyes. It started as a little self-doubting mechanism but now was a great thing to drive her colleagues crazy. 

"Yeah..." She mimicked him, pushing harder into his lips. 

Suddenly Malcolm drew her on top of him and laced his fingers at the small of her back, locking Dani in his tight embrace. As her first instinct was, in response to being held so strongly, she tried to push up on her hands placed on either side of Malcolm's head. This little sparring lasted until she settled fully, straddling Bright's hips.

"What now, Detective?" He dared her, raising his brow curiously. The bush of her curls, tangled from all nightly activities, was tickling his cheeks and neck. The black curtain shielded his face from the aggressive morning sunlight and Bright opened his eyes even wider, taking in the whole picture of Dani hovering over him.

"Now, while I'm on top I'm gonna kiss you" She didn’t have a chance for anything more than just a quick peck on his lips before Dani was beneath him, deliberately pushed into the mattress by Malcolm's full weight. In a swift motion he grabbed under her knee to drag her from the pillows, laying her flat on the bed.

He leaned in to kiss her, enjoying the wet sounds their mouths were making, and soft sighs escaping from between Dani's lips. Her palms very quickly went from laying flat against his chest to roam his body - starting at his arms and back and ending at the lower abdomen. When those hellishly cold fingers caressed him so low he broke the kiss, looking into her eyes provocatively, feeling his growing erection.

At that moment of longing gazes the door to Malcolm's apartment shot open and lovers frozen in shock. Instead of jumping away from each other like teenagers catched on making out by a parent (which wouldn't be so far from true, since it was Jessica Whitly who barged in) they stayed in this highly compromising intimate position. Malcolm was scanning with astonishment— the presence of his mother and sister, with Dani underneath him.

Ainsley stopped right away when her eyes landed on Malcolm’s naked back. To not make things worse she did her best to hide laughter from others. Jessica, in her utter shock, stopped only when she was already in the middle of the loft. The guests had terrible fun while Dani tried to quickly sat them up and hide herself behind Malcolm’s frame, covering herself as much as her part of sheets let her, since they also had to cover Malcolm’s hips and reaction of his body to what they were doing right before the disturbance.

"Mother!" Malcolm exclaimed when he shook off the residues of surprise. Clearly he hadn’t expected anyone, especially in a situation like this.

"Malcolm better throw some clothes on yourself, you'll be cold.” Jessica definitely was having great fun at her son’s expense. “Or maybe not." She glanced over him and took her eyes away, chuckling at the sign that her son was in the middle of something.

Meanwhile Dani was trying to hide herself from Jessica's prying gaze, keeping her eyes on Bright’s back. Malcolm was sure his mother hadn't noticed yet who's in bed with him. He did everything in his power to not ever mention his relation with Dani and how it was slowly progressing from just a friendship to something more.

But it was only a matter of time when Jessica would recognise Detective Powell as the person that’s in bed with her son. So Malcolm’s plan was to distract and, if the stars were aligned, get rid of those two women. Dani deserved to gather herself away from their curious gazes.

"Why won't you go buy something for breakfast? The local pastry down the street has amazing muffins,” the bland look on the face of both his mother and sister told him they haven’t picked up the hint that he and his company needed some time. “While we…" he started with desperation and Jessica right away acquired what was on his mind. 

"Yes, of course, darling." And like that Malcolm’s mother was gone with her wide, witty grin. When Jessica disappeared, Ainsley walked to the bed with her hand extended in Dani’s direction, not giving a damn about the poor situation of her brother. “I believe we hadn’t had a chance to meet. Ainsley Whitly, the sister.”

Her introduction was forcing Dani to label herself with a concrete role in Malcolm’s life. She was a very smart journalist. With one arm holding the sheets over her breasts, she reached the other to shake Ainsley’s hand. “Dani Powell.”

“We work together,” Malcolm quickly interfered with the introduction. He really didn’t want Dani to feel in any way obligated to tell his family anything. “Definitely not only that, Malcolm. I bet Gil would be thrilled if you worked in  _ that _ way.” And with a smile on her face she was gone, following their mother with the rhythmical patter of stilettos. 

Dani released her breath at the exact moment of the click of the closed door. She leaned her forehead on Malcolm’s back and pressed hard, trying to hide from the uncomfortable scene that just occurred. 

“When I came to your place yesterday evening I didn't expect to meet your family" Dani muttered into his skin. 

"Trust me, it could've been worse." an irritated groan left from deep in Dani’s throat and she stood up, leaving the covers on the bed.

Malcolm was following her naked silhouette around his apartment when she started gathering all her belongings.

“I’m gonna head out.” She was stressed, it was obviously understandable but Malcolm really didn’t like this strategy of hers - running away. 

“Oh no!” When she was near him, Bright caught her wrist and brought her into his lap. “You won’t flee and leave me for their mercy. Which, I promise, they give very little.” In an attempt to calm her down Malcolm covered her with a free fragment of bedsheets and started rubbing circles on her back.

Dani leaned closer, trying to take in his calmness. It was his family, he knew them very well and it really had to be more than just morning intrusion for him to be truly angry with them. 

“Bright, I don’t think I’ll make a good impression on them right now.”

“Dani, relax,” his smile was contagious. “My mother already likes you. And trust me when I say Ainsley will fall for you almost as hard as I did.”

“Oh, really?”

He kissed her on the corner of her smiling lips. “Sure, you’ve just become an object she’ll tease me endlessly about. It will amuse her beyond your imagination.” He kissed her again.

After a minute or so of quietly soothing her nerves, Dani asked "Do I wanna know what worse means in this situation?" 

Malcolm chuckled to what looked like his memories. "She could’ve barged in with Gil instead of Ainsley."

“Gil?” The mere thought terrified her enough to drain all her blood away from her now pale face.

“Mother loves to threaten me with him firing me”

“He would never.”

“Dani, you have no idea how many things they could sack me for right in this moment.” Another kiss landed on her mouth, this time more passionate.

“You’re unbelievable, Bright.” 

***

Dani Powell hadn’t expected something so bizarre to happen in her life, ever. It was Saturday morning and she found herself sitting on the stool at kitchen island in Malcolm’s loft. That wasn’t unusual - the strange part was the fact she was literally surrounded by Whitlys. Ainsley and Jessica were sitting on both of her sides and Malcolm stood in front of them, preparing morning coffee for three of his guests and even for himself since it was one of those very few things that didn’t make him sick. Turns out Malcolm sent his mom for the pastry for the same reason - those plain muffins he had in mind actually stayed in his stomach after eaten.

“Darling, you look tired.” Jessica’s observation was genuine concern but something in the tone of her voice, with hidden giggle, told Dani that Jessica was preparing for a full search for fresh information. She knew all about her son’s insomnia but at this moment, worry quickly turned into something nosy. With the next question it was obvious she just really wanted to tease out something about him and Dani. “How are you sleeping lately?”

A wide grin of amusement caused by how uncomfortable everyone except Jessica was feeling stayed on her lips. Dani was feeling out of place, when Bright’s mom started impling things about Malcolm’s sexual activity. 

Before she started thinking, she started talking. A very quiet comment left her mouth: "You’re cute when you're tired…” Dani wasn’t sure if anyone heard this but kept her stare on the plate with pastry  _ just in case _ , to avoid any eye contact.

A moment later, Malcolm answered his mother “I suffer from chronic insomnia. I’m always tired.” Although this line was meant for Jessica his eyes landed on Dani which was a clear indication that he  _ did  _ hear her.

It was hard to miss when Malcolm Bright was staring at you due to his eyes as deep and blue as the sky above. Dani’s feeling his intensifying gaze on her and raised her head. Their gazes locked. “Exactly,” she mouthed in his direction. The blush started slowly crippling to Malcolm’s cheeks, which was noticed but left unmentioned - at least verbally since looks between Ainsley and Jessica were exchanged.

“What do I owe your morning intrusion to, Mother? And why did you drag Ains with you?” Malcolm asked as he was finishing pushing down coffee grounds in the french press in a swift, steady motion. 

“Malcolm, can't I just be worried about my son? I have plenty of reasons.”

So far Ainsley was only taking in the absurd situation but she decided to add her own comment on Malcolm’s health, sipping on her coffee. “You have to agree she’s right with that one,” Ainsley spoke quietly since it would be rude to openly agree with their mother on the territory of his own place.

He decided to ignore his traitorous sibling for now. “You could warn me you plan to visit.” 

“But then I would miss Detective Powell.” Jessica mindlessly landed her hand on Dani’s arm.

“Dani is fine, Mrs Whitly, really…” She interrupted in a low voice. 

“Oh, please! It’s Jessica.” 

“Mother!” 

“What? Can’t a woman make friends with her son’s-- What exactly are you?”

“I believe it’s none of your concern” His calmness was thinning, slowly evolving into anger. Dani had no idea what got him so uptight, in her eyes the question wasn’t out of place. Yes, the situation was strange to say the least, but no one meant any harm. And then Malcolm's eyes quickly glanced over to Dani, as to make sure she’s still there, not trying to leave. 

It hit her. That Malcolm was so against sharing anything with his mom and sister because he was scared she’ll leave him eventually. His family’s knowledge about them, when she would be gone, would mean there will always be people around him to remind him about yet another failure of his. He was scared Dani would give him up because of his family, and if they knew about their relationship she would do it even quicker.

“Everything about my children is my concern!” Jessica was unapologetic when it came to her children.

“If we knew what we are, Mrs Whitly I assure, we would put some labels on us…” Dani’s trust issues aside, something told her it’s best to be honest to the extreme from the start with Jessica. Maybe it was her experience with Malcolm and the Whitlys in general, or just plain intuition.

“Just don’t hurt each other, kids.” Jessica finished her coffee and left with a few unsaid words hanging in the air. Ainsley just sighed deeply at their mother’s dramatic nature, which they unfortunately shared.

“She likes you,” she addressed Dani in a comforting manner. “It’s just… No one is ever certain in my brother's life and mom just doesn't want you two to… Leave the traits of bad blood between each other.” Ainsley spoke to Dani directly, without even acknowledging Malcolm’s presence. “Please forgive her…”

She picked her purse and coat up and stepped through the door, glancing over to Dani and Malcolm once more, only to add “But I definitely want dinner when you figure this all out!”

A resigned sigh left Dani’s lungs as she laid on the counter, covering her head with her arms. In her opinion, it was a disaster. Malcolm walked up to her, sitting at the stool that just a moment ago was taken by his sister. 

“You don’t have to do anything.” He placed his warm palms on her tights and started moving them up and down in an attempt of soothing manner.

Dani could feel the tremor was back - a very clear indicator how stressed he was. Usually Martin was the trigger since he was the main figure in his life associated with fear. But at this moment, fear was provoked differently and was based on something else. Something Dani couldn’t quite place. She could only bet it was all about his self-consciousness in the relationship area. But, he still chose to focus on her and giving her space. How this man was single for so long, with his caring selflessness, was still an unsolved puzzle for her.

“I want to. What I don’t want is to screw things up.” She sat back and caught his shaky hand between her palms. 

“You could never. That’s my thing in this family.” 

“And again with this self-deprecating humor…” He laughed at Dani’s remark, leaning forward and hiding in the crook of her neck with her hand in his hair, scratching the skin of his scalp.

/***/

Jessica left Malcolm’s apartment and went straight to her car, not waiting for Ainsley, sure her daughter will find a way to the work on her own. Adolpho parked just outside the building and getting inside Jessica was ready to make  _ the  _ phone call, with the phone already in her hand. Since the day her son came back from D.C. she made sure to check up on him more often than common sense would suggest, going to the extreme with her amount of unannounced visitations. Well, with a mental state so terrible as his, the extreme was very hard to achieve. That said, her maternal instinct was doing its best.

That’s why Jessica Whitly couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that she missed something as big as Malcolm’s new relationship. When Malcolm sent them away to get breakfast, Jessica was sure it was to have time to get rid of company. Yes, her son wasn’t one to have one night stands but people change and she wasn’t there to judge. To her surprise the woman stayed and turned out to be Dani Powell, a girl Jessica was vaguely familiar with.

Of course she was aware of Detective Powell’s existence in Malcolm’s life. She was very important in the life of her son, especially in the aspect of him staying alive. But never in an eternity Jessica would suspect it would be anything more than just babysitting orders from Lieutenant Arroyo.

So now Gil was the only person with the needed answers. She dialed his number but after a few rings and no answer, Jessica changed her strategy. She decided to call the precinct directly. It was sad but not surprising to discover that Gil decided to spend a peaceful day like this at work. Seems like Jackie was the only one with reason in their marriage.

When redirected to the conference room, she skipped any pleasantries and went straight into her rant.

“Did you know?”

“Know what, Jessica?” His bored voice answered. Gil wasn’t surprised in the slightest, even if he had no idea what all of this was about. With Jessica Whitly, it was always just a matter of time until she’d spill what’s on her mind. He had learned that throughout the years of helping with Malcolm that she was never one to hide both nice and mean things. She always spoke calmly to your face at the end of the day, whether it was  _ thank you for taking care of my son _ or  _ you should go to hell for making Malcolm believe you’ll be there for him _ . Gil even earned a few apologies from Jessica, mainly because he actually stayed in Malcolm’s life.

Until this moment, it was a very peaceful Saturday and obviously Gil had found himself at the precinct around noon without anything better to do in his free time. Recently, Bright hadn’t gotten himself into anything dangerous, which was surprising and very nice - to have a weekend when he didn’t have to worry about his reckless profiler. So far the most unusual thing that happened to Gil was meeting with JT at the precinct - as it turned out Tally was sick and wanted to get rid of her husband to decrease the risk of contaminating him with this awful flu. So, the boys were doing clean-ups on some old files.

“Did you know that apparently my son is in a relationship with Detective Powell?” Jessica was scanning the streets of New York during the ride. She was trying to take in the new reality where Malcolm was actively trying to be happy; figure out how to react to such strange albeit very nice news.

Gil chuckled to the speaker. “Jessica, are you serious?” 

It was something he wasn’t aware of directly but it wasn’t necessary to have a great mind to figure out there was something between them. Gil thought he was a little responsible for the current situation but it wasn’t his intention to become matchmaker for two of his favourite people. Dani just seemed like the only option to keep an eye on Malcolm when needed. 

“Dead serious,” the deep voice of Jessica Whitly’s thinning patience spoke. It filled the whole room and JT raised his head with a curious look.

“Then I have a question for you,” Gil started laughing shyly into the phone. “Where have you been for the past two months? Kids think we’re clueless but it’s kinda obvious just by how long they usually gaze into each other's eyes!”

“What?!”

“Relax, Jessica. They’ll be good for each other.” After reassuring his old friend, Gil locked eyes with JT and chuckled with Jessica still on the line. ”And now, thanks to you, I’ve just won 20 bucks. Pay up, JT!”

***

After a few more minutes of sitting quietly at the kitchen counter Dani stood up and decided to take a shower. It usually calmed her down and that’s exactly what she needed right now. Dani’s morning showers usually took her up to an hour when stressed, so Bright decided to to fulfill his routine in the meantime in an attempt to get rid of any residues of his tremor.

Twenty minutes into his morning yoga, the ringing of Dani’s phone disturbed his concentration which resulted in him falling to the ground. When he finally gathered himself from the floor, Malcolm found the device on his night table, grabbed it then headed to the bathroom to inform Dani about the phone call. Maybe she would like to pick that up.

Firm knocking on the door made Dani flinch under the stream of hot water. Bright let himself in before she could respond in any way, entering the fogged bathroom. Stepping inside, he just wordlessly showed Dani her shining phone. With vision blurred due to streams of water from above her head, Dani was unable to read the ID.

“Who is it?” After just a few seconds she gave up trying to identify the caller and headed back under the stream of water.

Malcolm glanced on her phone in surprise that he hadn’t thought to look who’s calling. “JT”

“It might be something about work.” A little bit of concern showed up on Dani’s face and the decision was quick, when it hit her she’s not able to answer the phone. “Take it, I’m all wet.”

And without any second thoughts Dani returned back to her shower rituals, not bothered by the whole situation. Malcolm left her and came back to the living area of his apartment. He picked up the phone the moment water wasn’t howling over his thoughts. Before Malcolm had a chance to at least start the conversation and inform his coworker that even though it is Dani’s phone it’s not she who’s speaking, JT’s voice shot straight to his ear.

“I’m just calling to let you know you owe me 20 bucks, Dani.” The annoyance of JT’s posture wasn’t serious nor real at all. “I was so sure when I betted against Gil that he’d be the one to walk in on you!” JT’s resentful voice spoke.

Malcolm was in such a shock that the only that escaped his mouth were words of plain confusion. 

“Excuse me?” He expected many things but definitely not the information that Gil and JT were betting who will walk in on him and Dani first.

Malcolm could say JT jerked in surprise hearing his voice but both of them were in too much of a bewilderment at current conversation to act at all. 

“Bright? Where’s Dani?”

“Taking a shower…” Malcolm looked at the door of his bathroom as if JT could see it through the phone call. 

This information hadn’t shocked JT as much since he ended the call with a simple “Whatever, man… I lost because of you two!” 

And now Malcolm was left without any idea of what  _ the hell _ just happened.

***

Fifteen minutes later Dani left the bathroom in the clouds of hot steam, wrapped in a towel. Bright hadn’t interrupted her with some news about the case so driven by curiosity she asked him “What did JT want?”

“He said he lost 20 bucks because it was my mother who walked in on us and not Gil.” Dani stopped right where she was, in front of the sofa, facing Malcolm who sat there with a stupid half-grin hidden behind his utter confusion.

“What?”

Malcolm huffed and dragged her onto his lap, wet hair leaving darker spots of water on his shirt. 

“Honestly I thought you might be the one with answers.” There it was, his know-it-all smile. Unfortunately for everyone he usually was right in situations like this, what only boosted his ego as the profiler even more.

“No, not this time, Bright…”

“So it’s safe to assume they have been aware for some time.”

“Yeah, I think we weren’t as good at hiding as we thought. Also,” Dani squinted her eyes at him, moving closer to leave a kiss on his cheek, “we work with two of the best detectives.”

Malcolm’s quiet chuckle filled the space between them as he hugged her and both of them leaned back onto the couch. “Great, now we don’t have an awkward conversation with them.”

“You are so wrong, Bright.”

**Author's Note:**

> To give credit where credid is due I have to address how grateful I am for claremontpsych. Because of her I've found motivation in me to finish this thing and also she's the one who did the read-through to make this thing readable. I am not native english speaker and learning this language for over a decade doesn't mean I'm any good at it.  
> And the dialog "You're cute when you're tired." "I'm always tired." "Exactly." belongs to lovely [malcolmwhitly-bright](https://malcolmwhitly-bright.tumblr.com/) and is here only because she let me use it.


End file.
